hellburger | (no subject)

Current Location: Industrial District, The Nexus

Entry tags:

ixis naugus

(no subject)

Kazuhira Miller leans against a brick wall covered in the illegible remains of old wheatpaste posters, layered with a smattering of graffiti. With the exception of his bright yellow scarf, his uniform looks entirely at home among the coveralls and drab work clothes of the Industrial District's labor force. Workers representing various species wander past on the way to work sites and factories while others huddle together to eat lunch or enjoy a smoke break.

Miller looks down at his watch compulsively, only to be reminded once again that it stopped the moment he set foot in the Nexus. He sighs, pulls a Rite in the Rain notebook out of his breast pocket, and flips through pages covered in copious notes while he waits for a certain Mobian magus to appear.

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"Target! Always a thing, or creature or target! I have a name, same as you. Oh, except not; you're all just named after various types of Mobians." At one point of Iguana's furtive, untrusting glances, Naugus bares his many teeth and clicks them. Snap snap.

"Is 'Master' Miller getting here anytime soon? I have half a mind to just relieve you of those ugly dark glasses and head back myself. You can have him."

Snail rolls her eyes and doesn't bother indulging the mage with any kind of response. She's equally tired of this whole, bizarre situation.

As everything calms, the jungle has similarly settled back into normalcy; insects begin to buzz again and birds chatter in the branches.

The last three soldiers finally materialize through the shadowy brush, followed shortly by Miller. His hair and face are damp with moisture -- a mix of sweat and the jungle's condensed humidity. He sighs sharply, annoyed.

"So. You finally get that out of your system, Naugus?" Kaz's eyes light on the aviators hooked to the front of Snail's uniform and wastes no time reclaiming them. A quick polish with his scarf and they're back on his face. "What a fucking fiasco."

"You said nothing of soldiers pointing guns at me waiting on the other side! What was I to think!? I made clear I don't trust your species and here exactly is why! Such a sight back home would have meant certain death and you don't so easily unlearn the reaction to escape or attack first! Surely a career soldier of all people would understand that!"

He's super quick to get right on the angry explanation, jumping back up to his boots and pointing accusingly at Miller as his tail lashes in anger. He's also got a good deal more blood running down his chest (what's visible behind his beard, anyway) thanks to digging at wounds like a big dummy.

Miller waves off Naugus' outrage, trying to look like he's fully in control of the situation. No telling what's going through his soldiers' heads after participating in this whole ordeal. "You think I was planning this? You should be thankful I didn't have you drop me in Colombia. Could be dealing with the cartels."

He gets an eyeful of the mage's wound and grimaces. "Jesus. Snail wasn't kidding. You really did a number on your shoulder. For future reference, it's better to leave the slugs in there until you can find a surgeon.

"I'd offer you a medic, but something makes me think you don't want to stick around." He paces over to the portal trees, expecting Naugus to follow.

"Knowing your medics, they'd sooner fill me with more bits of metal than cure me." He turns and hisses one more time for good measure at the soldiers gathered before following Kaz, his hand covering the bullet hole in his shoulder.

"What's their fate, then? They've seen evidence of the Nexus and the existence of non-Overlanders. Please tell me you'll have them all up against the wall before they day is through. I would sleep so much more better with that thought."

"The knowledge that things like you exist is more than enough punishment, Naugus." Miller clamps a hand on Naugus' shoulder -- the one that isn't covered in gore -- and steers him to the portal. He turns to address his underlings, "Wait for me here. No radio contact with Mother Base until you've been debriefed."

The MSF unit responds affirmatively, even as they continue to wear expressions of mixed confusion and curiosity. There comes a murmur of hushed expletives as their commander and the mage pass between the trees and blink out of existence.

"Thing! Always thing! Can't even give me the dignity of calling me a person or a man, can you?" Yeah, he's definitely stuck on this particular point. "Next thing I hear, you'll be instructing your bloodthirsty soldiers to shoot anything that steps through that portal that doesn't wear dark glasses and an unfortunate haircut."

Back in the Nexus once again, Naugus continues to grump as he peeks at his wound, lifting his hand to do so, then pressing it back down. "Are we quite done here?"

"Chalk it up to a flaw in our language. 'Person' and 'man' usually imply 'human' to us Overlanders. Come up with a more comfortable word, and maybe I'll use it."

Passing through the portal drops them back into the Nexus' bitter chill and Miller can't stifle a sharp inhale. Fucking winter. "We're done. You don't want my help and I don't feel guilty enough to keep insisting. Besides, I've got to get back ASAP and do some damage control. Thanks for that."

"Comfortable w-...Just say person! I'm a person! I'm a sentient creature with ideas and ambitions! I'm no beast! Agh, we are quite through, you and I! Here. One last courtesy and only because I said I would."

A stomp of one foot and the circle of conjuration crunches downwards a good several inches into the concrete. A swipe of the hand and it's covered by a sheet of stone, smooth and imperceptible as an interruption to the flooring other than the grain of it going a different direction than the rest. And that's only if you look close.

"I'll find someone else to take these little bits of death out of my hide, don't worry your head over it." Naugus snorts and stalks back towards the door leading out of this warehouse. Hopefully not to dig at the wound himself some more.

Miller drags the sole of his boot over the stone to inspect Naugus' handiwork. It seems to pass muster, but he doesn't show it. Instead, he adopts a mockingly cheerful tone and gives a short, choppy wave. "See you around, then. Take care not to fall into any other tricky human traps!"

With that, Kaz turns on his heel and strides back through the portal to address his baffled soldiers.

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